A trial set to open in Osaka, Japan on July 10 could ultimately deliver a judgment on the nature and culture of the nation’s prosecution as an institution.

Prosecutor Daisuke Tabuchi, 54, will stand trial at the Osaka District Court on charges of assault and cruelty by a special public officer.

He allegedly shouted, “Don’t mess with the prosecution,” during the interrogation of a suspect in an embezzlement case involving Pressance Co., a real estate company.

But the case goes beyond determining whether a single prosecutor’s abusive language constitutes a crime.

After law enforcement decided not to prosecute Tabuchi over the abuse allegations, the Osaka High Court ordered the trial, saying the way criminal investigations and interrogations are conducted “should be seriously examined as an organizational matter.”

This is the first time that a sitting prosecutor has become a criminal defendant through this quasi-prosecution procedure.

It is also highly unusual for an individual to be prosecuted under this charge solely for abusive language, without any allegation of direct physical violence.

In recent years, interrogation practices by prosecutors have repeatedly come under criticism as inappropriate.

At the trial, court-appointed attorneys acting as prosecutors are expected to argue not only that Tabuchi’s conduct was improper but also that it reflected institutional problems that allow such interrogation methods to persist.

Tabuchi is currently assigned to the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office. Sources said he intends to plead not guilty.

-The Asahi Shimbun